The Art in the Ending
by BlytheConner1
Summary: Angela Montenegro is having a rough time in love. She broke off her engagement with Jack Hodgins and things fell apart with former flame, Roxie. She immerses herself into a case, doing everything she can to help Booth and Brennan find a missing child, but what she finds in the end is something much more.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Though I absolutely love Booth and Bones, I've always felt drawn to Angela and really wanted to write a different story for her. Hodgins is great, but I've always felt that his devotion to her simply felt convenient for her and that her love for him wasn't as deep as his for her. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story! I do not own the TV show _Bones_ or any of these characters except for Gina Lancaster and her husband and son.**

Angela Montenegro tossed her cell phone onto her desk, ignoring the incoming text message from her best friend, Dr. Temperance Brennan. She rolled her eyes at her friend's tendency to text her while in the same building and headed to Brennan's office. She saw Tempe sitting at her desk through the glass and let herself into the office.

"Sweetie, I don't know why…" Angela allowed her voice to trail off as Tempe held up a finger.

Angela groaned impatiently and settled herself onto Tempe's couch. Her best friend, the brilliant forensic anthropologist, was chuckling to herself, playing some kind of game on her phone. She finished the level she was on and set her phone down on her desk.

"I'm sorry, Ange, this is just so amusing," Tempe turned to her friend with a grin. "Why didn't you respond to my typed message?"

"Text message, Brennan," Angela corrected. "And why would I text you when I can walk over here and talk to you in person?"

"Oh, it's just a quick and new way to communicate. Booth showed me," Tempe explained.

"It's not that new," Angela muttered under her breath, then looking up at Temperance, "So why did you text me?"

"Booth and I are working on a case, but it seems like a pretty simple one. We just need you to meet with a woman to do a sketch," Tempe said matter-of-factly.

"What's the case?" Angela asked. "I didn't know we were working on one."

"It came to us kind of suddenly," Tempe said. "There was a woman whose husband and son went missing a few weeks ago. Booth looked into it for her because he served with the husband in Iraq and Parker and their little boy are friends. The man was suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, having just returned from a tour in Afghanistan. The woman was afraid her husband may have taken the little boy while experiencing some kind of delusion."

"Wow, that doesn't sound simple," Angela pointed out. "Who am I doing a sketch of, if the kidnapper was the boy's father?"

"I identified the father's body this morning," Tempe answered. "He was found in their backyard swimming pool, dead for at least two weeks, but the boy is still missing. Booth went back to talk to the woman, Gina Lancaster, now that the circumstances of the case have changed. She told Booth that she remembers her husband in a heated argument with a man in their driveway the day before they went missing. She didn't think it was important before, when she suspected her husband had taken the boy."

"So I'm doing a sketch of the man arguing with her husband," Angela understood. "When do I meet with Gina?"

"Right away," Tempe answered.

"Oh," Angela said, her mood obviously changing.

"Is that a problem?" Tempe asked. "Did you have other plans?"

"I was going to have dinner with Roxie," Angela said. "To talk about things."

"Ange, I think we both know that you and Roxie have nothing left to talk about," Tempe said softly, walking over to her friend. "You can't force yourself to settle down with her when that isn't you."

"Yeah," Angela said sadly. "You're right. Thanks for the advice, Bren."

Angela left the Jeffersonian a few minutes later and headed to the bench near the coffee cart in the park, where she usually met with witnesses in a low-pressure environment to do suspect sketches. Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed the woman sitting on the bench. She had soft hair of golden brown and delicate features. Angela thought if she touched her she might break. She approached the woman slowly, making sure not to scare her away.

"Gina Lancaster?" Angela asked her, keeping her voice low, but cheerful.

"Yes," Gina almost whispered, looking up at Angela with sad eyes that looked as if they were made of gold.

Angela sat down beside Gina and placed her hand over Gina's, which lay trembling in her lap. Angela hoped she wasn't overstepping any boundaries, but the woman seemed to relax as Angela introduced herself.

"I'm Angela Montenegro, with the Jeffersonian Institute. I am so sorry for your loss," she stopped and looked into Gina's eyes, hoping she appeared confident. "But we are going to find your little boy."

**A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Gina Lancaster felt comforted by Angela's presence somehow. The sketch didn't take long as the man she'd seen arguing with her husband had been pretty average-looking. Angela thanked her for going through this again with her and stood up to leave. Gina was overcome with a dark feeling almost like fear as she realized the one person who had been warm and compassionate to her during this whole horrible ordeal was about to walk away.

"Miss Montenegro?" Gina called out as Angela was walking away.

Angela stopped and turned back to the woman. "It's Angela."

"Angela," Gina managed a smile. "Can I buy you some coffee or something?"

"I'd love that," Angela said, "but I'll buy." She gestured toward the coffee cart.

Gina realized that one cup of coffee on a park bench would take maybe fifteen minutes and the thought of being alone so soon terrified her. She had to think of something.

"I hate that coffee," she blurted out.

Angela looked taken aback at the sudden outburst. "Oh, ok…well is there somewhere you had in mind?"

"I know a good place," Gina said, embarrassed.

"Okay, if you'll just tell me where it is, we can take my car," Angela told her. "I just need to stop at the Jeffersonian first and make sure that Agent Booth gets this sketch, if that's okay."

Gina nodded and stood to follow Angela to her car. As much as she didn't want to see her husband's friend again, she would do anything to find her little boy. Surely Angela saw that, not thinking she was a terrible mother to want to go for coffee while her child was missing. Angela thought no such thing, as she grieved silently for the young mother's pain and fear. Anything she could do to help Gina feel more secure, she would gladly do.

The car ride to the Jeffersonian was silent and they met Booth on his way out. He realized Gina's attachment to Angela and offered to do the search back at his office rather than have Angela do it. He just wanted to speak to Gina alone for a few minutes, so Angela headed to talk to Tempe. Having seen the two come in together, Tempe met Angela halfway.

"Is that Gina Lancaster?" Tempe asked.

"Yeah," Angela answered.

"Why is she here?"

"We're going for coffee and I just stopped by here first to give Booth my sketch," Angela explained.

"Why are you having coffee with the witness?" Tempe was confused. "Was there more to what she told Booth?"

"She's not just a witness, Brennan, she's a person. She's a woman who just lost her husband and is missing her son and she's all alone in this. She just needs someone to be there for her."

"And you're going to be that person?"

"I'm gonna try," Angela said, frustrated with her best friend.

She noticed Booth had left and she quickly walked away from Tempe to rejoin Gina.

"Ready to go?" she asked the woman.

**A/N: Sorry this was kind of just a filler chapter to let you into Gina's head somewhat and maybe see what Angela's intentions are. Please review, good or bad**.


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